Two adults were cited Friday night on suspicion of furnishing alcohol to minors at a Freedom Boulevard restaurant.

Watsonville police and Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control agents checked several restaurants as part of an enforcement effort, said police Sgt. Mike McKinley.

About 11:10 p.m., they arrived at El Popo Restaurant at 1047 Freedom Blvd. and found a 17-year-old boy and 17-year-old girl seated separately with adults.

Both teens were drinking beer, and authorities ticketed two adults with them on suspicion of furnishing alcohol to minors, McKinley said.

The teens also were cited for drinking alcohol and alcohol possession in an ABC licensed business, police said.

Officers inspected the restaurant and also found it in violation of several ABC license conditions, said McKinley.

During the patrol, three more people were arrested in Watsonville for illegal drug possession and outstanding warrants, according to police.

The enforcement effort was paid for by a state grant to reduce alcohol related crimes. It also includes educational programs and it will continue through June 2014, police said.

WATSONVILLE

Man sentenced for Watsonville murder

Michael Neal Miller, 35, of Watsonville was sentenced to 60 years to life Thursday for the murder of Dominic Mower and the attempted murder of Candy McCullough, 22, of Santa Cruz.

The charges stemmed from a July 25, 2012, shooting on Prospect Street in Watsonville.

Miller, a heroin and meth user, had sold drugs to Mower in the past, and they were friends, prosecutors said. Miller believed Mower owed him money, although the amount of money was unclear.

Miller arranged to meet Mower at his home on the 200 block of Prospect to sell drugs sometime before 3 a.m. July 25, 2012. Miller shot Mower four times in the face and shot the woman three times. He then beat them both with the butt of the gun, prosecutor Johanna Schonfield said.

The woman crawled from the home and was treated for her injuries. Watsonville police investigated and arrested Miller on suspicion of murder and other charges the next evening. He was apprehended outside his mother's home in Watsonville.

Members of both victim's families read emotional victim impact statements and displayed a photomontage in the courtroom showing images from his birth to the years before his murder.

Schonfield credited the bravery of McCullough for being present at the sentencing and facing the man who killed her friend, beat her and shot her in the head leaving her for dead. Schonfield said families of both victims are grateful that Miller accepted responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty.